Lewis Machine & Tool in Illinois is supplying British forces their new sharpshooter rifle. It's a .308 and used for engaging the enemy out past 300 meters, where the 5.56 falls off in effectiveness. And you can buy one! Little pricey, but a badass weapon. These links will take you to an American Rifle article on the rifle, and to Lewis Machine & Tool to see more.

That truly is a badass rifle! And a lot of you thought that the SCAR family of weapons was expensive!

Prior to the Brits adopting this platform, rumor had it that supply NCOs everywhere were scrounging through the Brit equivalent of National Guard unit armories for the trusty old FN-FAL. The distances in the 'Stan are just too much for the 5.56 round that the Brits (and us) use in their bullpup MBR.

Our units are doing the same as the Brits; except they are scrounging for M14s. Some units are even purchasing M1As through civilian channels to supply their designated marksmen.

SOCOM has announced that they are officially adopting the FN SCAR 17, and its variants to fulfill that role.

Rumors have abounded now for several years that the Army is looking to upgrade the venerable 5.56 round to something a bit more stout. You can read about the Army's search for new weapons platforms elsewhere on this forum. Regardless of whether a new caliber is adopted, the Army is working on new cartridges in 5.56 that are designed to be more effective against personnel at greater ranges. That is good news, but perhaps only a stopgap move. I personally think that the Army will adopt short stroke piston uppers for the current M4 and call it a day. Will they adopt a new caliber (or multi-caliber option) to accompany that change? Time will tell. I also think that something will happen relatively quickly (e.g. 2012).